The present invention relates to the head structure of golf clubs and, more particularly, to an improvement in the head structure of iron clubs.
In general, iron clubs are intended primarily for second, third and bunker shots rather than tee shots, and they are used often for hitting shots from the bare ground, a sandy place and so on as well as from turf. Accordingly, conventional iron clubs are designed so that the club head is made in one body from a metallic material such as soft iron, stainless steel or the like in order to prevent the club head, and in particular its sole, from being readily damaged by a pebble or sand when hitting a ball.
The metal material, however, does not permit variety in the design of such clubs because of its large specific gravity. For example, it is desirable particularly for beginners and powerless golfers that the center of gravity of the head is located at a relatively lower part thereof. This is achieved by increasing the thickness of the lower part of the head including the sole thereof, but the thickness of middle and upper portions of the head should be reduced in order to maintain the weight of the head at a standard level, such reduced thickness resulting in the defect of decreased hitting distance of a ball hit by the club. Thus, it has been believed for conventional iron clubs that the good operability and high performance are not compatible with each other. Further, the face surface of the conventional head is made of a hard metal, and hence its repulsive force is small. Accordingly, the use of hard metal is not always preferable from the viewpoints of the direction and distance of a ball hit by the club.